I'm Right Behind You
by futurestar26
Summary: New multi-chap! Natalie starts seeing Gabe after a car accident. Bad summary! Please read!  got the title from I'm Alive lol
1. Chapter 1

**A new multi-chapter story! I'm so excited. This is just an opening...short thing to set it all up!**

**Please enjoy...I don't know if anything has been done like this before, but the idea came to me yesterday!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Next to Normal...except a couple t-shirts :)**

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Henry and Natalie were heading to their senior year Homecoming dance, with Henry behind the wheel. Natalie wore a black strapless dress that had a zebra print waist band and a little tied bow in the back. Henry had to match of course, so he found a zebra print tie at a yard sale. They looked ridiculous, but they didn't care. The night was about making fun of all the preppies at the dance in their perfect outfits who came in limos or party buses.

"I can't wait to see what flavor punch they have this year," Henry teased as they pulled onto the main road.

Natalie laughed. "Yeah, and if the chips are classic or scoop-style for salsa."

"If they even pay for salsa this time around."

They were both laughing, making fun of the dance as they drove to the school. Natalie almost didn't notice the huge SUV run their red-light at the intersection.

"Henry!" she screamed. But it was too late. The two cars were colliding. The sound of shattering glass was deafening. Natalie literally saw her life flashing before her eyes: her mom dropping her sixth birthday cake, her first piano recital, her grandmother's funeral, her first day of high school, her mother's freak out at Costco, her first date with Henry, the spring dance, her mom leaving. Everything.

She saw blood on her arms and felt some trickling down her forehead. She all of a sudden was very dizzy. Her vision was blurring. She looked over to Henry. He was passed out, head on the steering wheel. She whispered his name before she couldn't feel her whole body. In a few seconds she was out like a light, not sure if she was dead or alive.

* * *

The steady beat of the heart monitor was what finally woke Natalie from her four day long sleep. She couldn't open her eyes all the way though. It hurt too much. She was clearly in a hospital, although the details were still fuzzy. She did remember getting ready for the dance, then she remembered a few bits and pieces of the car ride. And then? She just rememberd screaming, loosing feeling. A car accident.

She saw her father sitting in the corner, sobbing. She saw her mother standing by the door, clearly concerned. She saw Henry in the hospital bed next to her's. He wasn't awake yet. She wanted to shout at him, wanted to know if he was okay, but she couldn't find her voice.

There was someone else in the room she realized. Standing at the foot of her bed was a boy. He looked about eighteen, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He had light brown hair that resembled her mother's when she forgot to dye it. And he had blue eyes. Dazzling, bright blue eyes. Almost too blue to be real. But they were real. She just knew it. She also knew that only one other person she knew had those eyes. Her mother. Suddenly details of her whole life flooded her brain. Could that boy be who she thought he was?

He reached out to her, urging her to say it. She swallowed, trying to wet her throat, trying to find strength. Finally, she opened her mouth.

"Gabe?"

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**Suspense! LOL**

**Please review. I promise an update soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, I was away for the weekend but now I'm back and ready to continue...**

**Though this has nothing to do with this story-I'll hopefully be updating my other N2N and my Spring Awakening multi-chap tonight 2!**

**Disclaimer...I don't own N2N...enjoy the story!**

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"What did you just say?" Diana asked, rushing to her daughter's side.

Natalie's eyes were open all the way now. Her dark brown irises flickered back and forth between her mother and the ghost of her brother. She could not be going crazy, not with her life. She blinked a few times, hoping it was just some weird side effect of whatever medication the hospital had her on.

"They can't see me," Gabe said with a smirk. "Not even Mom. I can do that, you know, make myself visible to who I want."

"Wh-What?" Natalie sputtered.

"I said are you okay?" her father told her. She hadn't even noticed him come over to her bed.

She blinked again, still looking at Gabe. He didn't seem to be going away. He just stood there and stared at her.

"Dan, get a nurse," Diana said, shooing her husband out of the room. When they were alone, she whispered, "Where is he? Where do you see him?"

"Ri-Right there," Natalie said, pointing to the bottom of the bed.

Diana smiled. "Don't worry, sweetheart. He won't hurt you. He's your brother. He loves you."

Gabe laughed. "I have seventeen years worth of things I'd like to say to you," he said. "But yeah, I guess I won't hurt you."

"Just go away," Natalie whispered.

"What's he saying?" Diana asked, grabbing her daughter's hand. There was a wild desperation in her eyes. Natalie was suddenly getting a little scared. Luckily, Dan returned with two nurses just then. One came over to Natalie and started checking a few machines, the other checked on Henry.

"Is he going to be okay?" Natalie asked, almost forgetting all about her boyfriend. She pushed herself up straighter in the bed. She ignored the shimmery image of Gabe and stared at Henry, lying there unconscious. "Is Henry okay?"

"He's pretty banged up," his nurse told her. "He hit his head very hard, but thankfully there's no permanent damage. He cracked a few ribs and has plenty of scratches. He almost had a spinal cord injury, but after running dozens of tests, we've discovered he's fine. We're most concerned about a gash on the left side of his lower abdomen. Although we've definitely stopped a lot of the blood, it still is bleeding. Lightly, of course, but we wouldn't want him to bleed to death."

"But he won't right? He's not going to die, right?" Natalie's eyes filled with tears ready to spill over.

"You know," Gabe said, appearing at Henry's bedside, "I have a say in if he lives or dies."

"What?"

"We think he'll make a nice recovery," the nurse repeated.

"You just have to do what I say," Gabe said, a grin forming.

"Like what?" Natalie asked.

"I didn't say anything," the nurse said, giving her a funny look.

"Oh, her medicines are making her...um...loopy, I guess," Diana said with a chuckle. "Perhaps we can lower the dosage?"

"Unfortunately," the nurse checking on Natalie said, "that won't be possible. It would make the pain probably unbareable."

"What's wrong with me?" Natalie asked.

"Well, broke your right arm and have a long cut on the left." Natalie looked at her arms and sure enough, one was in a cast and the other was bandaged tightly. "You also suffered a head injury like your boyfriend. And you have many scrapes and bruises, but you did fracture your left ankle. The position it was in at the time of the impact made it practically shatter. But you've already had your surgery and your ankle has set very nicely. It'll heal before you know it. Your arm will take a little longer, but you'll be fine. You just need rest. I recommend you go back to sleep." The two nurses left after promising they'd bring up dinner in about an hour.

Natalie couldn't stop looking at Henry and thinking about what Gabe had said. And she still couldn't believe she was seeing him with her own eyes. He was dead. Seeing him meant she was like her mom-crazy. And she could not be crazy. Natalie really hoped this was all a sick dream. She wished that she would be waking up in her own bed and none of this ever happened. Especially the Gabe part.

But she didn't wake up in her own bed. She was still in that stupid hospital an hour later when those nurses came up with her dinner. There was some mushed up chicken, apple sauce, and a Jello cup. Nice.

"Can I eat alone?" she asked her parents. "I just have a lot to think about and I need some time to myself."

"Of course," Diana said, pulling Dan out of his chair and out of the room.

Natalie picked at her food but wasn't really hungry. She wondered how her parents found out about the car crash, if Henry's parents knew, how soon Henry would wake up; the list of questions in her mind was neverending.

"As I was saying," a voice said. Natalie's head snapped up, and she instantly regretted it. Her head hurt her so much, she wanted to just sit back and shut her eyes. But Gabe was standing there again. "I can help your boyfriend live," he said. "He's only got, like, a 40% chance right now. But with my help, he'll be 100% alive."

"What do you want?" Natalie asked, feeling desperate. There was no way she could live without Henry. She felt so stupid, about to negotiate with a ghost, but she didn't know what else to do. "Wait, first tell me if you really are my brother and you really are real...like, in the sense of a real spirit."

"Oh, I'm real. I am very much so real. And yes, I'm Gabriel Goodman, I promise. Now, all you need to do to keep your boyfriend alive is bring me back into the family."

"What?"

"Even Mom ignores me now that she's stopped all her treatments and moved out. And don't get me started on Dad. I'm their son. I deserved to be treated like it."

"But you're dead."

"That doesn't matter," Gabe said quickly, raising his voice. "What matters is that you promise to get them to notice me again."

"But how do I do that?" Natalie asked. It just didn't make sense to her.

"You're the genius child, you figure it out. Once I'm noticed again, you can have Henry back." His image started to flicker.

"Wait!" Natalie said. "But that could take some time. Henry doesn't have that kind of time. I promise I'll do everything I can to make you part of this family again if you help Henry."

"Done deal," Gabe said with a smile. And then he disappeared.

"Natalie?" a voice said almost immediately after Gabe had gone. She looked over and saw Henry sitting up.

"Oh, my god!" she said with a smile. "Henry, you're okay!" She frantically started hitting the call button for the nurse on the bed.

"Oh, shit, that hurts," Henry said, rubbing his head. "What the hell happened?"

"Car accident. We're pretty fucked up."

"Yeah, I can tell."

The nurses came, followed by her parents. Natalie was so happy see Henry acting like his old self. He was eating, laughing, talking. And Natalie had no pain whatsoever. It was probably just the medicine, but she felt like a million bucks anyway. By the end of the night, the doctors told them they probably go home in a few days since they were doing so well. And Natalie had Gabe to thank for that.

But then she remembered her end of the bargain. She had to bring Gabe back into the family again. But he was dead.

She had no idea what she had gotten herself into.

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**Not exactly what I was planning, but I'm pretty satisfied LOL**

**I hope you like! And yeah, I won't be updating anything else tonight, it's late!**

**Reviews please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright, here's the next chapter! It took a lot of thinking, but I think it'll be okay...**

**Don't forget to review!**

**I don't own N2N. If I did, the cast would be living in my basement...which they're not...hahaha psshh no way...*cough* *cough***

**Enjoy!**

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A week later Natalie was released from the hospital. She would still have to wear her broken arm in a sling and had to wear on a walking boot on her ankle, but other than that she was feeling pretty good. Henry, even though he was acting alright, still had to stay in the hospital. Natalie assumed it was all the extra injuries he had. Natalie hadn't seen or heard from Gabe ever since they had made their deal. And she was still trying to figure out if that had been real or not. As the days went on she assumed it was all a crazy hallucination. She continued on with her life, going to school, visiting Henry all the time, and pushing Gabe out of her mind.

But then one day when she was visiting Henry in the hospital, things took a turn for the worse.

"Nat," he said, "can you get a nurse?"

"Why?" she asked, suddenly panicking. "Are you okay?"

"My side feels funny, that's all."

"Hang on." She hurried into the hallway and frantically called for a nurse. The usual one came in and checked his vital signs. Finally, she checked out the gash on his side.

"Impossible," she whispered. "I'll be right back, I just have to get a doctor."

"Wait, what's wrong?" Natalie asked, following the nurse of the room and grabbing her arm.

"His cut started bleeding again."

"What? How is that possible? It's been over a week since you guys said it was healed. He should be fine by now. He should be home."

"We planned on releasing him tomorrow," the nurse told her. "But now we won't know until he's seen by a doctor. Please excuse me."

Natalie went back to Henry's room. He looked at her nervously. "Am I okay?" he asked.

"Um, yeah," Natalie said, sitting next to him on the bed (the side of him with no cut, just in case). "You'll be fine."

"Natalie, don't lie to me."

"So you're bleeding again. The doctor will check you out, then I'm sure they'll stitch you up and you can go home."

"Stitches again?"

"Maybe they took the stitches out too early," Natalie said with a shrug. Her lie could have actually been true though.

The nurse joined them again, but with the doctor this time. He spent a good ten minutes examining Henry's side. Finally, he straightened up and sighed.

"I'm afraid you're loosing a lot of blood, son," the doctor said to Henry.

"What are you going to do about it?" Natalie asked, getting frustrated.

"We'll call his parents of course."

"I meant about his cut. How are you going to stop the blood?"

"I think staples could more efficient in this situation. Once his parents get here to sign some forms, we'll patch him up." He put a hand on Henry's shoulder. "You'll be fine, son." He looked at Natalie. "Why don't you go home and get some rest? Tomorrow's Saturday, you can spend the whole day here."

"Dr. Anderson is right," Henry said. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay." She leaned down and kissed him. "I love you."

"I love you."

Natalie left the room and headed out of the building. But Dr. Anderson stopped her.

"Natalie, was it?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," she said. "Why?"

"Well, I just thought I'd let you know it's not looking so good with your boyfriend. Staples probably won't do the trick. Judging by the amount of blood he lost in those few minutes I was checking him, his condition can worsen at any given moment. The gash might have gone deeper than we originally judged. It could have even punctured some organs. We'll have to run a new procedure called a woundoscopy. It's just a term, basically we run them when wounds just don't seem to heal. Anyway, with results from that, we can see where to go to next."

Natalie was in shock. "Th-thanks for keep me informed, doctor." She didn't know how this could be happening. Henry was fine just the day before. When she got home that night, her mind couldn't help but wander back to Gabe. Feeling suddenly guilty, she figured she had to do something quick. She found her dad in the kitchen.

"Why don't you ever visit Gabe's grave?" she asked.

"What?" Dan seemed shocked.

"Well, it's just that he doesn't really seem like he's part of the family."

"Natalie, he's dead," her father said slowly. "There's not much we can do."

"I know that," she said. "I just think you should visit it. Or maybe we could, like you and me. Tomorrow maybe. I don't know, just to, like, notice him a little bit."

"Why are you doing this?"

"No reason. Just please say yes."

"Um...I guess we can."

"Great." She ran upstairs, happy that she had down something productive, but also worried she hadn't done enough. She found herself calling her mom moments later.

"Honey, what's up?" Diana asked.

"Why don't you call Gabe over to your place tonight?" she suggested.

"Excuse me?"

"Look, maybe you'll understand or maybe you won't, but Henry's life depends on this. Gabe told me so himself, that day in the hospital. Just try to contact him, tell him you miss him or love him or something. Oh, and tell him to stop messing with Henry. Tell him it isn't funny."

"I'm on new medicines, Natalie. I barely can see straight ahead of me. I doubt I'll be able to conjure a Gabe."

"Don't think of it that way then," Natalie said quickly. "Just think about him as your son again. Call his name a few times and I'm sure he'll come to you."

"I'm pretty sure that would be against my treatment," Diana said. God, Natalie thought, since when was her mother so rational.

"Please, do it for me!"

Diana sighed. "Alright, I'll try." They said their goodbyes. Natalie sat back in her bed, relieved. She was sure what she had done would be enough. If Gabe was anything like the rest of her family, the half-ass attempt would have done just fine. But then she heard laughter. Her eyes snapped open.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily," Gabe said. And then he disappeared.

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**I'm sensing a freak-out in the next chapter! Haha**

**I hope you like this one. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it's been sooo long! I just didn't know exactly where to take it. **

**Thanks for so much positive feedback-it means so much!**

**Enjoy the story! (and no, I don't own N2N)**

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Natalie woke up bright and early that Saturday and practically dragged her father out of bed and into the car. She would be visiting Gabe's grave no matter what. If she didn't, she was sure he would do something horrible to Henry, something worse than what was already happening.

"Natalie, why are we doing this again?" Dan asked as they drove.

"I told you yesterday," she said. "He's not part of the family, not the way he should be. I think if we visit his grave, he'll...be properly...represented as a Goodman."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"I never said it would."

"Tell me the truth, Natalie," Dan said very seriously. "Did your mother tell you to do this?"

"No," she protested. "I want to do this. I have to do this."

"But why?"

She took a deep breath. Maybe if she told her father everything, he would understand and help her. If her Dad knew Henry's life was in Gabe's hands, he'd have to do something to make his son feel at home. Natalie felt so stupid, so crazy, for even thinking these things, but all she cared about was Henry.

"Remember that day in the hospital when I saw Gabe?" she asked. Dan nodded. "Well, he kind of told me that he would make Henry better if I brought him into the family again. I agreed, just because, you know, Henry wasn't awake or anythin and I was scared. But once Henry was fine, I dismissed it as a stupid mind trick or something. Something brought on by the medicine. But then yesterday at the hospital, the doctor told me Henry's getting worse. He's bleeding again and might have some internal damage. That's when I realized that Gabe really must have come to me. I mean, Mom saw him all the time. And didn't you? Once, after mom left?"

"I was in hysterics then, Natalie," Dan said, sliding into his usual state of denial. "Seeing Gabe was a way for me to forget about your mother."

"But you saw him. That's what matters. And I know that Henry won't get better unless I do what Gabe says."

They got to the graveyard. Natalie felt really sad just walking through the section for babies. The tiny headstones, all of the teddy bears and rattles sitting there. Gabe's grave remained undecorated.

_Gabriel Goodman_

_Beloved Son_

_October 3, 1992 - June 11, 1993_

"So what now?" Dan asked.

"Shouldn't we, like, pray or something?" Natalie asked him.

"Alright." He took a deep breath. "Dear God, bless our boy. Help us to keep him in our hearts. Amen." To Natalie, "Can we leave?"

"Dan, come on, he's your son."

"I know that, but you know how much I hate cemeteries."

"Go to the car. I'll be one second," she told him. She watched as her dad practically ran back to the Honda. She knelt down in front of the grave. "Okay, Gabe," she said. "You heard Dad. We're going to try to keep you in our hearts. We'll visit the grave more often. Hey, maybe next time I'll bring flowers or something. We don't mean to neglect you or anything. You just need to realize that you're not alive anymore. And it isn't nice to mess with people who are. So I'm going to ask you to please let Henry be. Just make him better again, and I promise you can be Superboy, but in a good way. I won't resent you. I'll be forever greatful." She kissed her fingers, then rubbed them over his name. "I may not have known you, but you are my brother. And I'm sure I would have loved you."

She started to stand up, really satisfied with her little speech. Suddenly, there Gabe stood, right on his grave. "I told you to bring me into the family again," he said. "Alive. Not worship the dead Gabe. Visiting my grave won't do shit." Natalie smiled a little. He was definitely her brother.

"What else do you want me to do?" she asked. "I told Mom to-"

"This isn't about Mom. This is about everyone. You and Dad...It looks like I'm just going to have to give you step by step instructions." His image started to fade.

"What about Henry?" she asked quickly.

"I'll take care of him." With a laugh, he disappeared. Natalie rushed back to the car, still shakened.

"Can you drive me to the hospital?" she asked her dad. He agreed and dropped her off. She hurried to Henry's room to check on him. He was surrounded by doctors and his parents. "Is everything okay?" she asked immediately.

"Yes," the doctor said. "Everything's perfect. It's like a miracle. I came down here this morning to check on the staples and it's like the wound has just disappeared, staples and all. No sign of abrasion anywhere." The doctors checked him once more and came to the conclusion that he was completely healed and could return home the next day.

_Wow, _Natalie thought, _Gabe really did take care of him. But what I am going to have to do in return?_

* * *

That night she and her dad were making dinner together. Her father told her to set the table. As she was putting down the plates, Gabe appeared. She was so startled she dropped all the untensils.

"Are you okay?" Dan asked.

"Um, yeah," she lied. "I'm fine, I just thought I saw...a bee."

"In the house? In October?"

"Crazy, right?" Her father laughed and went back to his cooking.

"Set a place for me," Gabe whispered in her ear, his image suddenly right behind her.

"No way," she said.

"What was that?" Dan asked.

"I just got a text message that's all."

"From who?"

"Um...Tess," she said, using the first name that popped into her head.

"Who's Tess?"

"Just a person." That satisfied her dad enough. Once again, he went back to dinner.

"Do it," Gabe said. She shook her head no. "Do it now." Another head shake. "Natalie, I swear to God, I can kill your boyfriend right now. Get another plate and set me a place." Natalie swallowed hard, but did as she was told. For Henry. She had to do it for Henry. Her father noticed her grabbing a third set of everything.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Setting another place," she said quickly.

"Why? Is that Tess person coming over or something?"

"No."

"Your mother?" he tried.

"No."

"Then why are you doing that? There's only two of us."

She looked quickly to Gabe, who was watching her like a hawk. "Tell him," he said. "Now. Tell him."

"Gabe needs a place!" she blurted.

"What?" her father asked.

"The third place. I set it for Gabe." Tears started streaming down her face. Her father turned off the stove and walked over to her, giving her a hug.

"Honey," he said, "I don't know what's going on, but whatever it is can be fixed. I'll make an appointment with your mom's old doctor."

"No," she protested. "I'm not crazy!"

"I'm not saying you are. Sweetie, I just want you to be okay again. Obviously the accident was very traumatic for you. Dr. Madden can help you. He'll just be there as someone to talk to."

"Say you'd love to go," Gabe told her, suddenly appearing behind her father. "Tell him you can't wait to go because you are flat. Fucking. Crazy."

"No," she whispered sobbing.

"It's okay, honey," Dan said, rubbing her back.

"Do it," Gabe said. "Do it for Henry."

"I'd love to go," she said quickly. "I can't wait. Because I'm crazy."

"Flat fucking crazy," Gabe corrected.

"Flat fucking crazy," she repeated.

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**Gabe is evil, I know! haha**

**But yayy for Dr. Madden! Stay tuned for the next update. I'll try to be faster this time.**

**Reviews?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow it's been forever. But I am back and I apologize for keeping you waiting for an update!**

**Please review!**

**And I don't own N2N :)**

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Natalie reluctantly got into the car the next morning. She didn't realize therapists were around on Sundays so she had been hoping she could get out of having to see her mom's old doctor. But her father hadn't forgotten her little run in with Gabe in the kitchen and had made the appointment like he promised. Fortunately, Natalie hadn't seen Gabe since. The brother she had been thankful for less than twelve hours ago was suddenly her worst nightmare. And yet, she still wasn't even sure if he was real.

The waiting room at Dr. Madden's office was pretty bland. The standard black chairs sat next to matching coffee tables with outdated magazines. At least the fish tank in the corner brought a little bit of color into the mix.

"Natalie, Dr. Madden will see you now," the perky blonde receptionist at the front desk told her. Natalie muttered a thanks and hurried into the office.

Dr. Madden sat in an oversized black leather chair, his smiling face younger than Natalie expected. His was dressed sharply in a suit and tie, his position in his seat so relaxed Natalie might have even considered him cool...if he wasn't about to start her therapy session.

"Natalie, welcome," he said. "Please sit." Natalie took a seat on the couch that matched the doctor's chair. They sat there in silence for about five minutes before Dr. Madden spoke again. "I guess I'm starting this one. Your father tells me you were in a car accident. Tell me about it."

"Oh, right, sure," Natalie said, readjusting her position on the couch. "Well, it was the night of Homecoming. I was going with my boyfriend Henry. I don't know if my mom ever mentioned us. Probably not. Anyway, there was just this other car. It ran a red light, I guess. Henry couldn't stop in time. Next thing you know we were in the hospital."

"Wasn't your boyfriend seriously injured?"

"Yeah. He was pretty banged up. Worse then me. He scared the shit out of me. Oh, wait, sorry. He scared the crap out of me."

"Language doesn't matter in here, Natalie. Your rules at home don't apply in my office. You're free to express yourself in any way."

"Oh, um, great. Well, it was tough, I guess. But he's better now. Like, as of yesterday."

"That's good to hear," Dr. Madden said. "Now this accident and Henry's injuries, that was pretty stressful for you, correct? Very traumatic."

"Yeah," Natalie agreed. "Like I said, I was scared."

"Of what specifically?"

"Well, that he'd die or something."

"Right," Dr. Madden said, nodding and scribbling down a few notes. "Your father tells me the night you woke up in the hospital you saw your brother, Gabriel. He also informed me that those visions continued. Please explain what you saw."

"Well, um...you mean the first time?" Natalie asked.

"Yes, and after."

"Oh, um, okay. Well, he was just there, at the foot of my bed. He looked like...I don't know. Like Mom. I recognized him as my brother immediately."

"Okay, and what did he say to you, if anything?" Dr. Madden asked.

"Well, Henry was doing really bad at that point. And I was hysterical. Or on too many meds. But Gabe said he could fix things. He promised he'd make Henry okay, if...if..."

"If?"

"If I brought him back into the family. If I made him more present, I guess, more alive in the house. It sounds crazy, I know, and I thought it was too. But Henry got better. I guess at first I assumed it was a coincidence and I had just been hallucinating, but then..."

"Yes?" Dr. Madden prodded.

"Well, after that I forgot about Gabe completely. Henry was getting better and we were hanging out and I was getting back to school. I didn't have time to worry about my dead brother. But then, real suddenly, Henry got worse. I somehow connected it back to Gabe and so I told my dad we'd have to visit his grave and I even..." She decided she wouldn't tell her mom's old doctor (or even current doctor, they didn't know) that she had encouraged her mother to call on her brother's spirit. "I even said some really heartfelt stuff when I got there. It was stupid. I thought I was being so stupid since ghosts aren't real and Gabe couldn't really do anything to me. But I was only thinking of Henry. I was willing to do anything to make him better."

"When did you see your brother again?"

"At the cemetery," Natalie told him. "He basically said that he wanted to be treated like he was...alive. It was spooky, really really weird. I didn't know if I was seeing things or not. But once again, it was all about Henry. Gabe told me he'd fix Henry once and for all if I did that. And Henry did get better that very day. Like, an hour after. And the doctors don't know how his wound just disappeared. How do you explain that, you know? But deep down I was hoping it could be explained, so I wouldn't have to see Gabe again."

"Alright, and why did your father feel the need to contact me?"

"Well, last night Gabe appeared again, at dinner. He made me set him a place at the table. He made me say some bad things. I don't know why I listened. I didn't have to, but he was holding Henry over my head. I can't let anything happen to my boyfriend. I need him. He's my rock; the one thing in this world that isn't messed up. I was afraid for him. What else could I do but listen?" Natalie watched Dr. Madden write a few more notes. "So do you think I'm crazy?"

"Crazy has many definitions, Natalie. Crazy is a word that is too often tossed around. Yes, crazy can mean mentally deranged or insane, but I do not think you're insane. You're very intelligent, I could tell in just a few short minutes. That eliminates another definition: senseless and impractical. Crazy can also mean incredibly passionate and enthusiastic. We're all crazy in that way at some point. Crazy when used as slang means excellent or awesome. I guess you're crazy in that way if you're down with that. It can also mean-"

"Where are you going with this?" Natalie interrupted.

"I guess I'm saying you aren't crazy. And your not mental or psychotic or insane. You were in a traumatic accident. Any traumatic event can bring about a vision or hallucination or whatever you want to call it because your whole body is in a weaker state. You were vulnerable. And confused. You just weren't yourself, correct?"

"Yeah, but-"

"And we all know that your brother died eighteen years ago, so he can't possibly be here talking to you and threatening you. And he died as a baby, so he technically wouldn't even be able to speak to you at all."

"I know that, but-"

"You seem to be disagreeing with me," Dr. Madden said, leaning forward in his chair. "What is it?"

"Well, I agree with you, I do, but what really confused me was Henry. What explains him getting better, then worse, then better again?" Natalie asked.

"The human body is a very complex machine. It works in mysterious ways. Doctors don't always have all the answers. You should just be happen your boyfriend is better again."

"So what do I do? If Gabe's not really here, then what do I do if I happen to see him again?"

"If your mind happens to confuse you in that way, you should just continue to reassure yourself that he does not exsist. He's only in your mind. You control him. He doesn't control you. If you remember that, I'm sure the visions will go away."

"And if they don't?"

"You really shouldn't think that way," Dr. Madden told her, slowly standing up and stretching a little. "But if they persist, we can always get you on some form of medication. The accident was a lot for you. You shouldn't feel embarrassed or weird or crazy if you need a little help getting back on track. I'll talk to your father. Perhaps we can schedule a follow up just to talk."

"Okay," Natalie said, also getting up. "Well, thanks."

"Your welcome, have an excellent day." And that was it. Simple enough. It wasn't as weird as Natalie had expected it to be. She went home with her dad, finished up her homework, and then visited Henry on his last day in the hospital. When she got home, everything seemed pretty normal again. Natalie felt normal. And content.

"How was that therapy?" a voice asked from behind her. She whipped around and saw Gabe standing before her. She quickly remembered what Dr. Madden had told her.

"You're not really here. You don't exsist. You can't hurt me," she said.

Gabe laughed. His laugh was loud, resonant. Scary. "You wish."

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**Hope you enjoyed!**

**I'll try to update waaaaaaayyyyyyyyy faster this time.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Again I am so sorry I haven't updated! The Christmas season, plus midterms made everything so much harder! I barely had time to breathe, let alone write my stories!**

**But I'm back and hopefully now with MORE snow days I'll have more time to do my updating!**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review! (and i dont own N2N)**

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Natalie woke up screaming for the fourth time that week. Her father rushed into her room and turned on the light.

"Are you okay, honey?" he asked.

"Um, yeah," she lied, still shaking. "Nightmare." Off her father's look, "I'm fine, really." She checked her clock. "It's five thirty anyway. I'll just shower now and get ready for school. It's Henry's first day back and he's driving me, remember?"

"Right," Dan said, backing out of the room. "Be careful. I have to get ready. Oh, I called Dr. Madden. You have a session after school at four. Let me know if you have any trouble getting there."

Her dad hurried on his way, and Natalie fell back into her pillows with a sigh. It had been a whole week and half since her last Dr. Madden session. She had convinced her father that Gabe had really disappeared, but that was a total lie. Every since their last encounter, she could hear his laugh everywhere, just taunting her, making her feel unsafe. She wanted to talk to someone about it, but she didn't want to go back to a shrink. He had clearly told her that Gabe wasn't real. So why then was it all so real to Natalie?

Her dreams every night were haunted by Gabe of course. They usually had something to do with him hurting or killing her or her dad or Henry. She couldn't stop the dreams. Even if she tried, she just couldn't get rid of her brother. For a few days it had been easier to forget about him for a few hours with Henry getting out of the hospital. She would go over and visit him at his house whenever she could, but his mom was being pretty protective with him. He always had to be resting, and Natalie didn't want him to worry about her and her craziness anyway.

She did get ready for school. A whole hour early. While she was making herself toast for breakfast, her father left for work. And she was alone in a great big house. Even her whispered, "Shit," as she dropped a piece of butter on the floor echoed throughout the whole house. Natalie used to love being alone. But lately, if she was by herself, Gabe was likely to join her.

At 7:27 exactly, Henry rang the doorbell. She rushed to get the door, and wrapped him in the biggest hug she could give. He laughed and kissed her on the cheek.

"Happy to see me?" he asked.

"Absolutely," she said, smiling. He looked great, like his old self. He had gotten a little scruffy in the hospital, and had taken a liking to it, but Natalie convinced him to do some grooming before he got back to school. So a "clean-shaven with a haircut" Henry stood before her in jeans and sweatshirt. His goofy grin and shining brown eyes were a comfort to her, instead of the smirk and bright blue eyes of her brother. She had to give him another hug to get the image out of her head.

"Alright, let's get going," Henry said, grabbing her backpack off the floor and taking her hand.

"Let me get that," Natalie said, reaching for the backpack. She didn't want Henry to strain himself. After all, she practically had her whole locker in there.

Henry just laughed. "Honestly, Nat, I'm one hundred percent okay. All the doctors said so. I can carry a backpack."

They got into the car and started on their ride to school. They were laughing, cracking jokes, and telling stories. Everything was perfect until Gabe appeared on the road in front of them.

"Henry! Stop!" she shouted. Henry slammed on the breaks, making them both jerk forward.

"What? What is it?" he asked. Natalie pointed to the street, but nothing was there. "Nat, what?"

"There was..." She took a deep breath. _He's not real. He's not going to hurt us. He's dead. He's dead. He's fucking dead._ "I saw...There was a cat. It got across fast enough though."

"Nat, what the hell? There was no cat. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, quickly. "I just saw a cat."

Henry took a second to collect himself with a few deep breaths. "Okay," he said, starting up the car again. They continued down the street. Natalie stared down at her Converse, hoping to hide her embarrassing blush. She couldn't believe she had really thought they were going to hit Gabe. She was sort of happy her dad had set up another appointment with Dr. Madden. When she finally lifted her head, there was Gabe's face right in the windshield. She screamed before she could stop herself. Again Henry slammed on the breaks.

"Natalie, what the fuck?" he asked. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing!" she said quickly. "Another...cat. Same one actually, I think ."

"Natalie, don't mess with me. Tell me the truth. What, are you scared to drive with me now? Is that it?"

"No, not at all. It's just..." _I'm seeing my dead brother? He's totally torturing me? I'm crazy?_ "I honestly thought I saw something. I'm really sorry. I'm going to shut up now so we can get to school."

"Okay," he said. He basically sped the rest of the way, probably just so they could get to school without Natalie stopping them again. And she was sure that she had seen Gabe three more times on the way. She had to bite her lip to stop her from having another outburst.

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"Are you sure you don't want a ride? You're dad's office is only, like, a ten minute drive," Henry told her. They stood outside on the steps of the school after last bell. Henry had wanted them to study together, but Natalie had her therapy session. Well, she told him her dad needed some help with extra filing. Of course he offered to take her. And of course she said no.

"Really, it's okay," she said, giving him a quick kiss. "I have to stop at the store and grab him some stuff, so, like, it's easier if I just walk. And I need exercise. I haven't gotten, like, any since the accident." She kissed him again. "I'll call you when I get home."

"Fine," he said. "I love you."

"Love you too." She started to go, but then turned and kissed him again. It was so good to have him back. Then she finally left the school campus and started the half an hour walk to Dr. Madden's. After ten minutes, she regretted not excepting Henry's office. At least it would have been only a few blocks down from her dad's office. But she made it, and just in time to miss a rain storm.

The blonde behind the desk smiled at her and sent her right in. Dr. Madden was there, in his leather chair. This time his suit was pinstriped. His face was relaxed and at least somewhat comforting. He greeted her in a smooth voice and they got right down to business.

"Your father tells me you've been having bad dreams lately," Dr. Madden said. "What happens in those dreams?"

"Well, it's mostly about me, or my dad, or Henry. And we're being...well, hurt by Gabe," Natalie admitted.

"But don't you know that what happens in your dreams can't happen in real life? Gabe isn't around to do anything to you." He wrote down a quick note. "Is he?"

"Well, no, but-"

"But?"

Natalie took a deep breath. "I did see him this morning," she said.

"Really?" Dr. Madden asked. "Where?"

"Well, on the way to school. Henry was driving, and I saw him in the road a few times. It was silly really. Stupid even. But still..."

"Henry driving...And wasn't it after the accident in which Henry was driving that you began seeing your brother?"

"Yes."

"Then this all makes a lot of sense," Dr. Madden decided. "You were back in the car with Henry for the first time. Obviously your mind would be nervous about the accident. What if it happens again? What if this time we're not as lucky? You can think of your brother's image in this instance in two ways. One, he's a gentle reminder that this time it won't happen again. Or two, you're recreating all elements of the accident in your mind and since Gabe was, in a sense, a part of that, you've invisioned him."

"Gabe's not a gentle reminder of anything," Natalie said, getting a little agitated. "And that doesn't make much sense to me. I wasn't recreating the accident in my head. I didn't see the car coming toward us or hear the screeching of tires. All I saw was Gabe. And he wasn't even doing anything."

"Because he can't."

"What?"

"You yourself said he wasn't even doing anything," he told her. "And you and I both know that he can't. Gabe wasn't doing anything because he can't do anything to you. And you need to keep reminding yourself of that. If you don't, this image of your brother will take over your whole life. You don't have anything to be afraid of if nothing's there."

Natalie wanted to tell him that Gabe already was slowly taking over her whole life, that he already had done something. He had already had done so much. But she knew he just say the same thing. That it was all in her head. But Natalie knew it wasn't. She couldn't explain it, but she knew her brother still wanted something from her. And at this point she wasn't so sure if it was just being a part of the family again. But she was determined to find out and put an end to this once and for all.

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**Hope you liked! Please review :)**

**This'll probably be wrapped up in a chapter or two :(**

**I'm really going to try to get more updates of this soon, and hopefully the rest of my stories can be updated today too! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh my god it's been sooo long! But finally I'm updating this story. I've actually been doing a lot of thinking and I just don't know where this is going! But enjoy anyway! haha I don't own N2N**

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When Natalie got home, she left her backpack at the door and hurried up to her room, locking the door behind her. She shut the blinds, making the room completely dark. She stood in the center of the room and put her arms out.

"Okay, here I am, Gabe!" she shouted. Luckily her father wasn't home. But he would be soon so she wanted to get this over with. "Come and get me!" Laughter filled her ears, Gabe's laugh-hollow and taunting. But she couldn't see him anywhere. Maybe she should have turned a light on...

"Seriously, I'm alone in the dark. If you want to say something or do something to me, do it now!" The room got colder, and the laughing continued, but she still couldn't see Gabe. Her skin was crawling. She knew he was there, but he wasn't...present. Natalie was starting to get annoyed. She grabbed the lamp on her nightstand and threw it to the ground. It smashed into tiny pieces.

"Dammit, Gabe!" she yelled. "You're bugging me every other fucking day, just show yourself! God!" When there was no answer, she started picking up with pieces of her broken lamp.

A warm breath tickled her ear. "Here I am," a voice whispered.

She spun around and there was Gabe. "Finally," she said, giving him a shove. It really wasn't the time to be playful, but she was always jealous of the girls she would see teasing or goofing with their brothers. It used to hurt knowing that she could have had that, someone older and cooler to look up to and hang out with.

"What's up, sis?" he said, springing up and onto her bed. She slowly stood and took a deep breath.

"I want you to tell me what is going on."

"I don't know what you mean by that."

"It means that I'm still in therapy. It means that you're always bothering me. What about the crap you pulled on the way to school this morning, huh? You could have killed us! Just tell me what kind of sick game you're playing and what I need to do to win."

Gabe just laughed. She was getting so sick of that laugh. "You're so uptight," he said. "Just chill. This isn't a game. It's real life, sis. I already told you what's at stake, and I already told you what I wanted."

"You wanted to be a part of the family, I know," she said. "But I think it's time you realize that you're not. You can't be, 'cause you're dead. Don't you understand that, Gabe, you're dead! At this point, I don't even care what you want. I just need you to leave me alone. I need you to get the hell out of my head. You're not real! You're not around anymore. You died when you-"

"Shut up!" he screamed, suddenly right in front of her face. "Just shut up, Natalie. What, you don't think I can't hear what you're thinking? Of course I'm in your head! I know you want a brother. Here am I! Your real brother. You just have to do me one small favor and you can have me here. For real, alive, however you want to phrase it."

"Gabe, for the last time, I've tried getting you back into the family, but it just makes me seem crazy. It's my senior year. I'm just trying to get through it and have a good time and enjoy my boyfriend. I don't know what else to do to help you, and I'm not so sure I want to anyway, no matter what you say."

"Bad choice, sis. Of course you're going to do what I say."

"Seriously, I don't know how I can convince Dad or Mom to-"

"No, no, I've got another idea," he said. "Before I tell you though, do you promise to get it done no matter what?"

Natalie didn't like the idea of agreeing to something before she actually knew what it was. Just the thought of saying yes to Gabe suddenly felt like selling her soul to the devil. "No way," she said. "I have to hear it first."

"Then how will I know you'll do it."

"You don't..."

"Not good enough," he said, suddenly back on the bed. "You know, you're really not helping yourself here. I mean, all you have to do is say yes..."

He stared at the ceiling, as if waiting for Natalie to say something first. She didn't know what to do. If she agreed right away, she could get stuck doing something horrible. It did occur to her that she didn't actually have to do it. But then if she didn't...

"Okay, well what are the consequences if I say yes, but don't follow through."

"We both know you wouldn't want to do that," he said, smirking.

"Before I agree, I have to know."

With a laugh, he said, "Sure, whatever, you'll be fine."

"Oh, no, I know how you can twist things," she told him, hands on her hips. "You said 'you'll be fine', as in, only I will be okay. What about dad, or Henry?"

"Okay, okay, take a chill pill. I promise I won't do anything to Dad-"

"Or Henry."

"Or Henry. God, I don't even like him that much and I'm promising to protect his life..."

"But either way, you promised," Natalie reminded him. "And you have to follow through."

"And so do you," he countered. "So what's it gonna be?"

"Fine, I'll do whatever you say," she agreed quickly. "What is it? What can I do to get you out of my hair?"

"It's simply really." He smiled, still looking at the ceiling.

"So...?"

"So. Here's what you're going to do. You're going to go into the attic and find my music box."

"Like from when you were a baby?" Natalie asked, not sure if it was okay to laugh. What kind of big dangerous deal was that?

"Yeah. Find it and open. There should be a little piece of paper tucked in there somewhere. You need to find it and do exactly what it says."

"Wait...Dad broke that music box last year. I don't even know if we still have the pieces."

"Well, you better find them," Gabe said with a grin. "And the note. The note is very important." His image started to fade.

"Wait, Gabe, come on!" Natalie said. "I'm almost positive Dad threw all that away. What am I supposed to do?"

"Well...you better find it." And he was gone.

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**Okay it's updated Yay! haha i'm on break now so I really will try to update this fast!  
Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright update time! Please review! **

**I don't own N2N :)**

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Natalie sat at the kitchen table waiting for her father. He was late, very late. It was already way past dinner and he should have been home. Natalie started worrying. What if Gabe had changed his mind about keeping their father safe? What if he realized that Natalie could never follow through with his stupid task and decided to kill Dad? Right when she was about to jump up and call the police, her dad came through the front door.

"Hey, Nat," he said immediately, "sorry I'm late. There was horrible traffic. Some huge accident on the parkway."

"Well, as long as it wasn't you I don't care," she mumbled. "Listen, Dad, do you remember Gabe's old music box? The one you broke the night of the Spring Dance slash Mom leaving you?"

Dan froze. "What? Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't, of course," she said quickly. "It's just that...well..." She needed to think of a lie, and think of one fast. She couldn't say anything about Gabe of course. Her dad would think she was even more unstable. "There's this thing at Henry's church...A special collection for...sick babies in the hospital. I was just thinking of all that old baby stuff in the attic, and I wanted to donate all of Gabe's old baby stuff." Her father was looking at her skeptically, so she added quickly, "Dr. Madden suggested it actually. As like a closure thing..."

Her father smiled at that. "Well, I'm glad you're really taking this seriously. Feel free to go up into the attic and take whatever you want to donate. But I don't think we have that music box anymore. I mean, that thing shattered when I..." He cleared his throat. "Look, I don't see why it would make a difference to donate that box anyway."

"I just thought it would be a really good idea. Like, didn't Gabe love that thing? Wouldn't it be, like, so great if another baby could get the same amount of joy? Especially a sick baby?" She gave her dad one of those puppy dog looks, one that she normally never would pull and no one would believe on her anyway, but her father seemed to be buying it.

"Well, if it means that much to you, you may find the pieces in the attic and you could glue it together or something. But I doubt you'll find it up there. I honestly don't know where it went."

An idea popped into Natalie's head. "Is there any chance that Mom maybe would have it?" she asked.

Dan thought it over for a second. "Yeah, I guess she could have it." And then he started pulling pasta out of the cabinet to start dinner and immediately changed the subject. Natalie slipped upstairs to check the attic. All of Gabe's baby stuff was missing. To her, it just confirmed that Diana did have his things and hopefully his music box.

The next afternoon, immediately after school, she had Henry drop her off at her grandparent's house. Her grandmother opened the door. Natalie's Gram always reminded her of the fairy godmother from Cinderella. She was so small and cute.

"Natalie, what a surprise!" Gram said, giving Natalie a big squeeze and then waving at Henry as he pulled out of the driveway. "Come in, come in!"

"Yeah, I just stopped in to see Mom. Is she around?" she asked.

"She's upstairs. Can I get you some cookies?"

"No, thanks, Gram. I need to just talk to Mom." She gave her grandma a quick little pat on the shoulder before heading upstairs to her mom's room. Diana was sitting on her bed, writing in a journal. When she saw Natalie she put it away quickly.

"Oh, Natalie, hi," she said, getting off her bed. "What are you doing here?"

"Listen, Mom," she said, getting right to the point. "I know you have Gabe's baby things. I don't care if that's, like, against your treatment or whatever. I just need to see the box."

Her mother started blushing. "Oh, Nat, I don't...I never..."

"Please, Mom, I don't have this kind of time right now. You know what's been going on with Gabe. I don't care if you think I'm crazy, but I have to find his music box."

Diana put a hand on her shoulder. "You know I could never think you were crazy," she said seriously. Natalie forced a smile. "It's okay. I've got his things right here." She pulled the old cardboard box out from under her bed, giving a little laugh. "And you're right. Taking these things was totally against my treatment." Natalie didn't think it was that funny, but she took the box and sat in the chair in a corner and started going through its contents.

After pushing aside blankets and onesies, Natalie was beginning to think it was hopeless. She was only finding pacifiers and rattles. She was ready to give up with something sharp poked her finger. She let out an "Ow!" and started digging for the object. And then she found it. One jagged edge of the music box.

"Mom, where's the rest of this?" she asked quickly.

Diana looked at the dark brown piece. "Oh, the music box," she said, looking very pensive.

"...Yeah...the music box. Please, Mom, do you have any other pieces?"

Diana seemed to snap back to reality. "No, your father had cleaned it all up by the time I came home from Dr. Madden's. As I was about to go, I found this one piece. I wanted to hold on to it."

"So this is all you have?"

"Yes."

"Okay, thanks," Natalie said, getting up quickly and giving her mom a quick hug. "I have to go. I hope it's okay that I keep this for a little." Diana looked a little hesitant, but Natalie just smiled and flew down the stairs, shouting "Bye everyone!" and running outside. She didn't feel like calling Henry and bothering him to pick her up, even though he told her he wanted to get her. She just started walking home by herself, examining the music box piece. Natalie encoded every little detail into her brain. It would hopefully make her search for the note easier. And speaking of the note, it wasn't tucked neatly inside the piece. She checked.

It took Natalie a good half hour to get home. Her dad was also home, cleaning the kitchen counters.

"You're late, honey, where'd you go after school?" he asked.

"To Mom's," she told him. "I found a piece of the music box."

"Oh, that's great."

"Mom said you were the one who cleaned up the pieces. Are you sure you don't remember where you put them."

"Natalie, I didn't put them anywhere," he snapped. "I threw them out."

"Okay, okay, I'll check the garbage cans or something," she said before rushing to her room. She dropped the piece onto her desk and flopped onto her bed. She ignored the several texts from Henry to just think. Where the hell were those pieces? And how would she find a little note inside of them? She was definitely ready to give up when a familiar laugh filled the room.

"Oh, shut up!" she shouted.

Gabe appeared immediately at the foot of her bed. "Wow, someone's in a bad mood," he said.

"Yeah, and it's your fault. You're the one making me do this stupid thing anyway."

"Hey, you promised."

"Whatever. I'm trying, okay?"

"That's all I ask," he said with a smile. "Oh, but that means really trying. Not finding one piece and wanting to throw the towel in." Another smirk and he was gone.

_So he really is in my head, _Natalie thought. It was a scary thing to realize. She made a mental note of it so she could watch what went through her head.

She eventually fell asleep, taking a short one hour nap. But when she rolled over to wake up, something jabbed her in the side. She sat up quickly. Tangled in her sheets was another sharp, brown piece of the music box. This piece even had a little bit of mirror attached.

"What the-?" Natalie said, picking it up and turning it over in her hands. She had no idea how the piece got there. It had to have been Gabe. How else would it have ended up in her bed? Especially after she wanted to give up?

She noticed that the mirror was falling off. She ripped it off and found exactly what she was looking for: the note. Written on a simple folded Post-it, her hands were shaking as she read it. The instructions were clear and simple:

_Kill the sister for the brother._

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**Hope you enjoyed! Please review :) I'll definitely try to update faster!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hope you all enjoyed that last chapter :)**

**Here's the update! Enjoy! And please remember to review :)**

**DISCLAIMER I don't own Next to Normal**

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Natalie stood up on her bed, one tiny tear forming in each eye.

"Gabriel!" she shouted on the top of her lungs. "Gabriel Anthony Goodman! Get your ass over here now! Do you think this is funny? Is this your idea of a joke?" She kept on screaming, shouting random swears or just screeching. Finally her father barreled through the door.

"Natalie," he said, grabbing her flailing arms. "Nat, calm down, what is it?" Natalie crumpled the note in her hand, refusing to show her father. She collapsed onto her bed in a fit of sobs. He sat with her for a minute, stroking her hair until her breathing softened. "I'm going to call Dr. Madden," he said finally, getting up and heading for the door.

"Don't leave me," she whispered, starting to cry again.

"...And Henry." And he hurried downstairs.

Natalie couldn't bring herself to get up again. She stayed in her bed, softly crying as she heard her father frantically set up an appointment with Dr. Madden. She could barely move when Henry ran into her room and scooped her into his arms. Was she really going to die? Did the message mean she had to kill herself? Or was someone going to come for her?

All of a sudden it hit her. Gabe had been trying to get rid of her from the beginning. He had probably caused their first accident. He had appeared in the road that day, and he was always threatening to kill people. She was suddenly just filled with so much rage and hate. She thought maybe Gabe was really just looking for his family. He was really just a sick spirit. He actually wanted her dead.

Henry stayed with her for a few more hours, not even saying anything. He just held her close, and really that was all she needed. Her dad made him leave when it was time to see Dr. Madden. She had wanted him to come, wanted to hold his hand, but Dan refused. She was so drained she couldn't even get too mad at him; she had no sassy retort. She just silenty drove with her father to the office. It was just starting to get dark.

Dr. Madden greeted them both in the lobby. "Good evening," he said quite formally. "Are we ready to begin?"

Her father nodded for the two of them. She noticed that all three of them were heading into the office. She stopped short. "Wait," she said, her voice hoarse from the lack of speaking. "Is Dad coming in with us?"

"I thought it might help," Dr. Madden explained.

"Well, it won't. I don't want to talk in front of him."

"Natalie, please, I only want to help," Dan said.

"No," she snapped. "I need to talk to Dr. Madden alone." There was plenty of tension now, but finally Dr. Madden told Dan to wait in the lobby while they started their session. Only when she was safely behind a closed door did Natalie unfold the note.

"Now, Natalie," Dr. Madden started, "your father tells me that you had a-"

"Let's cut the crap," she said, handing him the Post-it. "Gabe told me I needed to find his old music box. He made me promise to find it and do whatever a note inside it said. That's the note. He said that if I didn't complete whatever assignment was on the paper...well, he didn't exactly say...but I know it'll be bad. It's always bad." She stared at Dr. Madden's blank face. "What? Don't you have anything to say? Don't you believe me now?"

"This is all very...interesting," he said finally. "Natalie, really, who wrote this note?"

"Well, I don't know. I don't recognize the handwriting."

"Do you honestly believe Gabe has the power to hurt you? Are you really going to take this...this...threat seriously?"

"Gabe does have power," Natalie said, getting agitated again. "You and I both know that. You saw what he did to our family when Mom was still living with us. And now you see what he's doing to me." The tears starting coming again. "He's driving me crazy. He's making me legit crazy! You're looking at me like I'm a total nutcase."

"Natalie, you know that you aren't crazy," he said, placing the note on the coffee table. "But I honestly don't think you are trying to help yourself anymore."

"What?"

"It's just that...well, let's be realistic. I've told you all I can tell you about letting go and moving on, and you just refuse to do any of it. At this point, the only person standing in your way is you. I can't help you until you help yourself."

"Okay, I understand you're really trying to help me here," she said sarcastically. "But what do I do about the note?"

"Simple." He took it off the table and ripped it in half. Natalie was about to protest when he put the pieces in the garbage. "Don't think about it. Natalie, I don't know how many times I have to tell you this: just put this whole thing behind you. Get on with your life. Gabe isn't-"

"I know, I know. Gabe isn't real. He can't hurt me. Blah blah blah. Thanks for your help." She hurried to grab the torn pieces of the Post-it from the garbage bin before running back into the lobby.

"Is it time for me to come in?" her father asked when he saw her.

"No," she said quickly, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the hall. "We're free to go home now."

* * *

It was obvious Dr. Madden wasn't going to help. She called Henry up and invited him over again. He was a little hesitant to come, probably because he had just seen her in full melt-down mode, but he did come. Natalie planned on telling him everything, and together they would figure something out.

"Are you feeling better now?" was the first thing Henry asked.

"Yes," she assured him. "I'm sorry about that, by the way. It was just...well, that's what I wanted to tell you about." And she did. She started at the beginning, right from that first moment in the hospital. She didn't spare any of the details, even the things that involved Henry's own health. She was completely honest, and it did feel amazing to get it all off of her chest, to tell someone about Gabe. Someone who cared.

"Are you being serious?" Henry asked softly when she had finished.

"Yes, I promise. I didn't make a single thing up. Don't you believe me?"

He took a breath. "Of course I do. It's just so...scary. I mean, seeing your mom go through what she did and how that messed with everyone...I don't want your brother to ruin us too."

"He won't," she said strongly, taking his hand. "I won't let him. I just need your help. We need to finish Gabe once and for all."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"Well, I'm not sure..."

"And the note," Henry said, staring at the pieces. "You're sure it means...exactly what it says?" He hadn't taken the news of her impending death so well.

"I'm positive. I mean, it has to, right?"

"Isn't Gabe one to usually, you know, twist things? What if we played with the interpretation? We'd be listening, because we followed the note's instructions, but we did it our way."

"How else can you interpret killing the sister?" Natalie asked, falling back into her pillows.

"Um...okay..." Henry got up and pulled a dictionary off of her bookshelf. He flipped through the pages. "Here it is," he said. "Okay, kill. To deprive of life. To cause the death of..."

"Yeah, this is working."

"Hang on, there's still more." He took a breath. "Okay, um, to slaughter for food...To put an end to...to defeat...Defeat! What you like...let him win something against you?"

"I doubt I can please Gabe by letting him beat me at a ping pong game," Natalie said with a laugh.

Henry sighed. "I'll keep looking...to destroy...to cause to stop...Stop...Stop what? Like stop you from...cooking something? That would work."

"I'm pretty sure he means stop me from living...so..."

"You're not making this easy," he told her. "To cause extreme pain to...to tire almost to the point of collapse. Ooh! What if you guys like ran a race or something?"

"Seriously, Henry?" She was getting a little tired of this. "It's pointless. There's no way to get around this."

"You're not going to go off and kill yourself! I won't let you! Just let me finish looking through the definitions...Okay...To consume as a drink totally...Now we get into the synonyms...I think that's it."

"See?" she said. "I told you. It's over."

"Nat, don't say that." He looked like he was about to say something else when a cold breeze ruffled the curtains and their hair. Natalie knew what was coming, but Henry did not.

"It's Gabe," she whispered. And sure enough he appeared. She watched Henry's face. She knew he saw him too.

"Okay, that was super cute," Gabe said with his signature smirk. "Trying to fool me by changing the definition? Nice one. But unfortunately kill means kill. I take it you've found the note?"

"Yeah, we did," Natalie said. "And it's ridiculous. Honestly, Gabe, I'm not dying. And I won't kill myself. Sorry."

"Oh, Natalie. Sweet little sister Natalie. Don't you see it's the only way? It's actually quite an ancient ritual. I remember watching Mom read up about it. Stories all about killing one child in order to have the soul of the other dead child. Some people would do soul swaps, but I'm not interested in making my comeback in a chick's skin."

"What do you mean Mom was looking stuff up?"

"You heard me. Who do you think wrote the note?"

Natalie felt like the walls of her room had caved in. Her mother had really thought about...killing her? Gabe had to have been lying.

"No joke," he said. "Ask her yourself." And he disappeared.

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**Ok please review! Stayed tuned for the next chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

**~sorry for the HUGE delay! i had a bunch of summer programs I was doing...anyway I'm back! And I want to submit the next chapter of this story...and just a note I'm trying to wrap it up in the next couple of chapters! please enjoy and review! And I don't own N2N!~**

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It was already late in the day, but Natalie wasn't going to just sit around. She needed to speak with her mother right away. Was there really a possibility that her mom would have killed her as a child to get Gabe back? Or was this just Gabe's sick way of messing with her? She needed answers and she needed them now. She drove with Henry to see her mom.

Her grandma opened the door again, but Natalie was not in the mood for small-talk. She pushed past the old woman and hurried up the stairs, leaving Henry downstairs to apologize before joining her upstairs.

"Oh, Natalie, what a surprise," Diana said. She was in her pajamas already, writing in a journal. "What's wrong, honey?"

"Don't talk, just listen," Natalie snapped. "I know you put a note in Gabe's music box. Now, I don't know why, but I know you were looking up ways to swap spirits and all that other fucked up shit, because Gabe told me himself. You need to explain yourself now and tell me how to get rid of Gabe before I drive myself crazy."

Her mother looked like a deer in highlights. She definitely wasn't expecting Natalie to say what she did-and that was more than enough proof for Natalie that her mother really did do such a thing.

"Natalie, you have to understand something," Diana said quietly, after a very long pause. "I was so distraught after your brother died that I really didn't know what to do with myself. I was crazy; I've come to accept that now. But I never wrote that note. I promise you."

"Well then who did?"

Diana took a deep breath before continuing. "Like I said, I was desperate to get your brother back. One day, when you were no more than a few months old, I found some woman online who could talk to spirits. I usually didn't believe in that whole psychic business, but I just had to try. I dropped you off at day-care and went to her studio. She gave me a reading and told me that Gabe was always with me, and always would be. She said he was hurting because he wasn't with us anymore, and that he would do anything to come back. She said that Gabe had a message for me. That was when she wrote that note. She said it was all Gabe wanted. I stormed out of there without paying the woman a dime."

"But you kept the note..." Henry said uneasily from his post in the doorframe.

"By accident!" she insisted. "When I got home, I shoved it in the first place I could find."

"The music box," Natalie said, stringing the pieces together.

"I never would think of doing something like that, no matter how unhappy I was."

Natalie ignored that comment and kept on thinking. "I guess we have to find that medium and get some answers from her."

"Natalie, this is getting ridiculous-" Henry started.

"I have to," she said. "You don't understand. Neither of you do. I want to get rid of Gabe. I don't care what I have to do."

"Natalie, don't do anything stupid," her mother said. "Gabe really wouldn't do-"

"Yes, Mom, he would. He would do anything. Give me the name of that lady."

"I really don't remember, Natalie. We were living on Walton Way then."

"It wasn't The Amazing Aliana, was it?" Henry asked slowly.

"Um..."

"A woman with dark brown hair that goes all the way down her back, with that one streak of grey? And she always wears big gold rings?"

"I believe it was," Diana said with a nod. "How did you know?"

"My aunt's really into all that stuff. Aliana's, like, the only supposedly reputable medium around. Her shop's somewhere on Grayson Way, across from that organic grocery store."

"Then we're going there now," Natalie decided. "Thanks for the help, Mom." She ran downstairs, Henry close behind her.

"Nat, it's almost eight o'clock," Henry said. "We should give it a rest for tonight."

She wheeled around to face him, stopping him in his tracks. "I can't give it a rest, Henry. This is my life. If you don't want to help, you can go home and I'll walk. I have no problem with that."

"I'm obviously not letting you walk across town by yourself."

"Then shut up and drive." And that they did. They got lost a few times on the way, but soon enough they were parked in front of The Amazing Aliana's House of Fantasy. The neon OPEN sign was still flashing, thankfully. They hurried inside, taking in the posters for $5 palm readings and special $12 aura readings.

From behind a curtain in the back of the shop, a woman emerged just as Henry had described her. "Ah, what can the Amazing Aliana do for such a lovely young couple?" she said, her voice thick with a pretty pathetic French accent.

"I need to ask you about a reading you did about seventeen years ago," Natalie told her.

"I do not remember things from so long ago."

"But you're a psychic," Henry said. "That's, like, your job..."

The woman must have realized that was true because she ushered them to the back room. "Come sit," she said. "I will see what the cards have to say about this."

"We don't want a card reading," Natalie said as she was forced to sit in a giant black velvet chair. "We just need some answers."

"Well then speak, and Aliana will see what she can do."

"Um, okay. So my mom came in here wanting to talk with her dead son. Her name was Diana Goodman and she was trying to contact Gabe. He was just a baby when he died. Apparently you told her that Gabe wanted his little sister dead. And I'm that sister."

"Ah yes," the woman said, closing her eyes. "I remember Diana. Those blue eyes are hard to forget...so haunted...I knew her case was serious. I did contact her son, and yes the things you speak of are true. I don't see what else I could possibly do for you."

"Well, can't you tell me how to get rid of him?" Natalie asked. "My brother, that is. I was in a car accident, and ever since I've been able to see his spirit. He's capable of terrible things, and now he wants me dead so that he can come to life again."

"Oh yes, the common case of sibling rivalry. If this Gabe boy was able to kill you, he would most likely be able to capture your spiritual energy to double his own, making him practically human. But it would take more than one sacrifice to bring back the dead."

"But it can happen?" Henry asked, dumbfounded.

"Of course. Anything is possible."

"So you don't know how to help me at all?" Natalie asked.

"I can only think of one thing. To banish a spirit, you need to complete a certain ritual."

"Great, how much is that going to cost?" Henry mumbled.

"Nothing," Aliana promised. "I do not perform such rituals here in the shop. They are very dangerous and I cannot risk my business. For the small fee of ten dollars, I can tell you what you need in order to get rid of Gabe forever."

There was a chance this woman was just a lunatic and would be no help at all. But Natalie was running out of options. She had to try everything. She passed a ten dollar bill to Aliana. "Tell me," she said.

"Excellent. You need to wait until midnight. Only at the stroke of midnight will this ritual work. You must be sitting inside a circle of white rose petals. The white rose is a symbol of purity and cleanliness. Gabe's spirit is an unclean one if he wishes to kill. He will not be able to penetrate your circle, however, especially if you have lit four black candles. Black symbolizes focus and survival. Place those candles in a square around your circle. A square will symbolize stability and structure. It will show your brother that you are solid and grounded-that you should not be tested and you will not fall."

"I better write this down," Henry said, pulling out his phone and writing himself a memo.

Alian continued. "There is more. You should be burning incense. In a small ceramic bowl, burn white sage, cedar, and myrrh."

"Where the hell are we gonna find myrrh?" Henry mumbled. Aliana ignored him.

"White sage represents healing. It will bless and cleanse you. Cedar is used to keep out unwanted spirits. And myrrh signifies enlightenment. You must keep your minds open. You must stay in the light. His spirit will push you into darkness but you must fight it. You will need more candles. Put four small orange candles on your windowsill. It will signify perserverance and keep you aware and thoughtfull."

"This is a lot of stuff to prepare," Natalie said.

"And there is still more you must do. All of the elements must be in place for the ritual to work. Make sure you two are sitting with your legs crossed inside of the circle. At exactly midnight begin the following chant: _My heart is clean and pure, my mind a shining beacon. My spirit is floating free. Draw from my energy your own strength to pass on. Take our hope and soar, soar away to the afterlife you deserve. _Repeat that chant over and over until he finally leaves you. I promise it'll work."

Once Henry double-checked his notes with Aliana and Natalie thanked her for her trouble, they were able to leave.

"That was so crazy," Henry said as they drove.

"But we have to try it," Natalie told him. "There's got to be some store we can go to to get this stuff."

"I don't know. This is the freaky side of town, maybe we'll find something."

They drove around, looking for some kind of spiritual store. Natalie made a mental note to thank Henry for being so awesome. He just believed everything she had told him and was now driving around the bad side of town in his mom's car to find what they needed for some kind of freaky ritual. He was officially the best boyfriend on the planet.

They finally stumbled on a Native American tribal store. Luckily they had all the herbs and candles they needed. They set off home, waiting for midnight to roll around.

When they got to her house at around ten o'clock, her father of course wanted Henry to go home. But Natalie insisted it was crucial to her mental health that he stay. That seemed to convince Dan. He probably didn't want another melt down on his hands.

Once they were in her room, they started setting up the circle of rose petals, then the square of candles. They set the incense burning, and lined up the tiny orange candles on the windowsill. Dan knocked on the door to check on them many times, probably thinking they were smoking something illegal in there. At 11:50, they sat in the circle with their legs crossed and waited.

"Do you think this is really going to work?" Henry asked quietly.

"I hope so," Natalie said, taking his hand. "I'm sort of out of options. It's either this or kill myself."

"You're not killing yourself," he told her firmly. "Let's just get rid of this bastard once and for all."

Her alarm clocked beeped midnight and the chanting begun.

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**Hope you liked! I've decided the next chapter's going to be the last! Please review! I can't wait to finish this story and I hope I'll get the update up real soon!**


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